E3 LITHIUM LTD., a leader in Canadian lithium, is pleased to announce its plan to build a fully integrated Lithium Brine Demonstration Facility (the “Demo Project”) with the goal to produce battery grade lithium carbonate from brines located within the Leduc reservoir in Alberta. The Demo Project takes a significant step forward in the Company’s strategic plan to develop a commercial lithium facility that will reinforce western Canada as a major lithium resource jurisdiction.
The Demo Project will be an advancement from the successful Direct Lithium Extraction (“DLE”) pilot program conducted in 2023. The Company operated and evaluated multiple technologies, showcasing the technical feasibility of DLE technology including its own proprietary DLE. The 2023 pilot provided critical data used in the recently released Pre-Feasibility Study (“PFS”) validating the economic feasibility of lithium projects in Alberta.
The Demo Project will operate a fully integrated process that will include an increase in the scale of the DLE system and add into the processes for the purification, concentration and chemical conversion to continually process brine into battery grade lithium carbonate. Additional hydroxide developments will be conducted offsite. The objectives of the Demo Project are to unify the necessary components onsite into a fully integrated process replicating, as best as possible at a reduced scale, a commercial system. This will provide real-time data while the Company continues to design a commercial system through advanced engineering. It will also provide samples for commercial discussions with potential strategic partners. The Demo Project will enable the Company to continually optimize and de-risk each step of the flowsheet as it moves towards completing its feasibility study.
This facility is unique in Canada and will serve as an economic driver for Alberta’s battery supply chain. The Company will publish more details on the Demo Project over the coming months while it finalizes the design and operational aspects.
“We are thrilled to take this next step towards demonstrating the production of battery quality lithium carbonate from our Leduc Brine,” said Chris Doornbos, President and CEO of E3 Lithium. “E3 Lithium aims to be a direct supplier of products to the battery industry. The Demo Project is an important step towards progressing the Clearwater Project, providing samples to potential strategic partners and an overall advancement for lithium assets on a commercial scale in Alberta.”